Surfer Blood : " Carefree Theater"

The black box warning on this album should read : "Do not listen to this album before your first cup of cofee, if you woke up depressed today". Despite lyrics about "feeling the weight of the years" The album opens In the past ten years it is evident the band has continued to polish their sound. Do not let the opening guitar tone fool you. The  production has smoothed out some of the grit that was found on the first two albums. They are excellent song writers with a sound directly from the 90s. The vocals and more straight forward sonic quality keeps them from sounding more like the Pixies. Instread the guitar layering and smooth vocals lines owe more to the Shins. The guitar's stay in strum when not holding a palm muted flow. Sorry "Karen" is not about asked to speak to the manager. It does however have a catchier melody than the opening track.


"Parrkland Into the Silence" is the first song that lyrically steps out of the bubble and takes a less optimistic view of the world.  There were moments before this song where they were tired or ignoring problems, but the conversation does not turn toward the more down trodden bleakness I enjoy until this song. This mood fortunately contines going into "In the Tempest's Eye". The music propelling the subject matter remains bouyant. This is given more atmosphere with a 60's garage keyboard sound in the background. The retro pop vibe goes back to the 1950s on "In My Mind" . Yes that is the third song title in a row that is a preposition. "Unconditional" is what I call an anxious love song.The protagonist wrestles with the old addage "feelings are not facts".  With song's like "Summer Trope" This album does serve as a pretty fitting sound track to sitting six feet from connecting with any one on a sunny day at the beach. I guess that is where I sometimes have trouble connecting with this album at times , as sunny day at the beach sounds like misery to me. If you have read my work with Cvlt Nation , then you know as a sadist , I prefer the misery of others to my own.

By the time we get to "Dewar" the songs begin to sound the same to me. The formula is firmly in place. "Dewar" does vary things from this enough to draw me back into the album. The melodies are pleasantly craft, as the singer hits all the right notes to get the job done, but is not dynamic like Frank Black or Morrissey. Thus this gives the sheen of indifference to the narrative voice of the song where, it could be emoted more to exude more colorful emotion. Instead with get an bright shade of sepia. The album ends contented with itself, not with any sort of climax. If this was sex it would be comfatable Christian side hugs and hand holding not an orgasm, despite finding their the gain knobs for the song's build. They are good at what they do. I prefer the earlier work. Theyhave none of the sonic darkness I seek, but their song writing is pretty sweet. As in sugar/. Give it an 9.5, would say not likely to hit my end of the year list, but not a great deal of steallar indie rock out yet. Out September 25th.